Emergency obstruction indicator for railway tracks



May 7, 1929.

E. J. GORMAN EMERGENCY DESTRUCTION INDICATOR FOR RAILWAY TRACKS Filed July 20,

' 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 E. a: winan,

' I abro'mua May- 7, 1929. GORMAN 1,712,206 EMERGENCY OBSTRUGTION INDICATOR F bl? RAILWAY TRACKS Filed'July 20, 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 1929-v E. J. GORMAN 1,712,206

EMERGENCY O BSTRUCTION INDICATOR FOR RAILWAY TRACKS Filed July 20, 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 gwuawtoz M/ITNESSESp. E J Gornmn,

/ awn-W l atented May 7, 1929.

umrsn STATES inane PATEN caries.

' EDWARD J. GORMAN, OF ROANOKE, VIRGINIA.

EMERGENCY OBS'IRUCTION INDICATOR FOR RA ILWAY TRACKS.

Application filed July 20,

7 provide a construction for operating automatic block signals of the type now generally in use, or if desired an especially erected signal if the protection desired is not in block territory. That is to say, it is pro posed to provide a novel electrical device including in circuit with the signal circuit in such a way that upon the occurrence of a slide or other emergency condition, the said device will be I automatically operated to open the signal circuit and set the signal in a position to warn the incoming train of the dangerous condition.

A further object of the invention is to provide a simple and practical construction which may be readily installed and which is practical and reliable in use.

lVith the above and other objects in view which will more readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter. more fully described, illustrated and claimed.

A preferred and practical embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings in which I l is a detail elevation illustrating an installation of two units of fence with two circuit controllers and the manner of connecting the circuit controllers with the signal circuits.

Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating the mannor of applying the fence to a curve.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail elevation of the arrangement of circuit controllers.

Fig. l is a side elevation of the construction shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the combination of the circuit controllers with the automatic signal circuits.

Similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings. .One of the distinctive features of the present invention is to provide means mecha-nically operated by sliding earth, falling trees. or the like which will operate a. circuit con- 1927. Serial No. 207,253.

troller, mounted on a post intended to have a relatively fixed position, the said circuit controller being included in the automatic signal circuit when the sa d means is installedin automatic block territory, or on the other hand adapted to be included in serieswith a special automatic signal when v the installation is made outside of block territory. In automatic signal territory where the device is installed the maintenance is assured by reason of the control circuits for the adjacent signals being looped through a switcher circuit controller, and

since the latter is a part ofthe signal system itself, it mustbe regularly inspected and properly maintained as well as the signals and tracl: circuits, thereby assuring proper functioning of thedevice without additional unnecessary checking. v

It will be observed from Fig. 5 which diagrammatically illustrates the invention that the track T is provided with the signals S and S and the usual track battery T, each of the signals S and S having the standard relays R and the connecting relays RVeach of which are connected to the com mon feed wire R The signal S is con.-

nected in series-with the circuit controller A; by means of .t-llOWllGS' S ,'S ,'S' and S and on the other hand the signal S is connected with the circuit controller B through the wires S and S leading through the circuit controller A and back to the signal S through the wire S Also, as shown in Fig. 5, the circuit controllers A and B are shownin their closed positions so that when either control crank has been actuated by the movement of a fence section the circuit will be broken and the signal set to indicate the danger.

V fhile the foregoing diagram, illustrates the application of the invention with an automatic block signal circuit, nevertheless it. will of course be understood that the circuit controllers A and B may be connected with wires leading to the opposite rails of an insulated track of a particular block so that either an automatic electric signal independent of the block could be operatedor the bloclr signal itself could be operated in the same manner as when a train occupies the block. r I 1 i s As previously indicated, one .of the dis.- tinctive features of theinvention resides in the provision of anautoinatic circuit-controller in combination with a signal circuit, the circuit Controller being mechanically operated upon the occurrence of an emergency condition to open the signal circuit and keep it open until it is manually reset.

Referring now more particularly to the structural details and means for' carrying out the foregoing idea, it will be observed from Fig. 1 that the circuit controllers A and B are mounted upon a fixed or station- .ary post 1 and are respectively operated by the fence sections C and D at opposite sides of said post. The post 1 is preferably set in concrete and likewise the posts 2-2 at opposite sides of the "post 1 and in the fence sections C and I), are also set in concrete while theend posts3 3 of each section are also embedded in concrete and also preferably braced'as indicated at 1. The intermediate posts 5 of each fence section are embedded in the earth but are notnecessarily anchored in concrete because it would make no difference if they move under the influence of a slide. The posts 2,3 and 5 constituting the fence sections G and D support a plurality of guard wires 6 which are anchored to the posts 3 as indicated at 7 but have a free sliding engagement with the posts 2 and 5 as-indicated at 8. inc ends of the guard wires 6 adjacent the post '1 are connected to 1 a common tension bar 9. As shown in Fig. 1, the tension bars 99 -of adjacent fence units are resiliently connected by the tensioning connections 10,"

each of which preferably includes a turn buckle 11 and the springs 12. In that way the opposite sections off guard wires 66 are yieldingly connected so that if the wire associated With either the fence C or the fence D is deflected one way or the other and moves through the loose staple connections 8 the tension bar 9 will be moved, and when the saidtension bar 9' moves it will actuate either one or the other of the circuit controllers through the actuating connection 13. The latter is preferably a wire or cable connected to each bar and in turn connected to the lever or crank 14 of the circuit controller after passing over the pulleys 15.

Referring more particularly to the circuit controllers A and B which are of duplicate construction and include the lever or crank 14:, it will be observed that the said crank 14 is pivotally supported as at 16 and is provided with a nose 17 which is normally held against thestop or keeper 18 by the spring 19 which engages the lever as indicated at 20 andhas its'upper end anchored as at 21 to'the post 1. When the actuating wire or cable 13 is-pulled by pressure on the guard wires the lever 14 will have a tendencyto rock on its pivot and place the spring 19 under tension. The tension of the spring'increases until the axis ofthe coil of the spring passes the axis of the pivot 16 whereupon the lever 14 will be snapped into the dotted line position shown in Fig. 4. In other words, the lever 1 1 is" pulled from its normal position shown in full lines in Fig. 4:, against the tension of the spring 19 until the spring passes the dead center between the longitudinal axis of the spring and the horizontal axis of the pivot Whereupon the lever will be snapped into contact with the beveled edge 18" of the stop 18. This movement of the lever will actuate the circuit controller to open the signal circuit and thus actuate the signals in the well known manner.

The wires leading to the circuit controllers A and B are designated respectively as 22-22 and 2323 and are preferably contamed within a suitable cable 2-1 "Wl'ilCll is passed through the conduit 25 carried by the post 1'. The conduit 25 leads to the top of the post las shown in Fig.1 and the cable 2 1 is then led out of the conduit and sup ported on the strain wire 26'which is connected to the top of the conduit 25 and to the pole 27. The wires 2% are then connected into the lines ,13 S andis (see Fig. 5) of the signal relays in the manner-previously explained. r v

After the circuit controllers A and B have been actuated, that is, thrown automatically from the full line position shown in Fig. 1 to the dotted line position, it s necessary for them to be manually reset. The automatic block inspector will always be able to tell the condition of the circuit controller by knowing the position of the lever or crank 14-,and in checking the standard automatic sigi'ialsflcan also conveniently check the present device. Therefore, theupresent equipment makes it possible for the block inspector to take care of the slide fence on a singleinspection, and eliminates the necessityof a man to be stationed at the Joint of a nienacingslide to naintainthe right of way clear or advise of the obstruc tion thereof when a slide occurs;

Fig. 2 of the drawings illustrates the ap- PllCflUOn'Of the fence to a curved section of by to normally maintain thecircuit'con 'troller operat ng cranks 14 in their normal position; However, when the guard Wires 6 are placed underdefiecting pressure the tension of the springs :19 will be overcome sufliciently to cause the actuation of the controller lever 14 which will be snapped over to open the signal circuit.

'Without further description it is thought that the features and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and it will of course be understood that changes in the form, proportion and minor details of construction may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit of the invention and scope of the appended claims.

I claim 1. An emergency obstruction indicator for railway tracks comprising in combination with the automatic electric block signal system, a fixed supporting member, an electrical circuit controller carried by the fixed supporting member and normally maintaincd in a closed position, said controller being in circuit with the signaling system, a fence section having a fixed support at one end and a movable yieldingly held support at its opposite end, the movable end of the fence section having an operating connection with said circuit controller.

2. An emergency obstruction indicator for railway tracks comprising in combination with the automatic electric block signal system, a fixed post, an electrical circuit con troller carried by the fixed post and being in circuit with the signaling system, a fence. section including a plurality of wires having a fixed support at one end and-connected to a common tension bar at their opposite end, means for yieldingly engaging said tension bar to maintain the entire fence normally taut, and an operating connection between said tension bar and the circuit controller.

8. An emergency obstruction indicator for raiiway tracks comprising in combination with an automatic electric block signal system, a normally closed electric circuit con troller connected in series with the circuit of the signal system, means for mounting said circuit controller and actuating the same comprising a post mounted in a fixed position in the ground and carrying said circuit controller, a fence including a post securely embedded in the ground and spaced from said first mentioned post, and a wire guard consisting of a plurality of fence Wires anchored to the post which is securely embedded in the ground, a tension bar connected with the ends of the fence wires opposite said last mentioned post, spring means engaging the tension bar, an operating connection between the tension bar and the said automatic circuit controller, and means for maintaining the circuit controller in its open position when operated in an emergency until it is manually reset.

4. An emergency obstruction indicator for railway tracks comprising in combination.

with the automatic electric block signal system, a fixed supporting member, a pair of circuit controllers carried by the said fixed supporting member and both included in circuit with the signal system, said circuit closers being normally closed to maintain the circuit in a closed condition, and a pair of fence sections arranged respectively on opposite sides of said fixed supporting member; the said two fence sections being anchored at one end and having their opposite ends unanchored and yieldingly connected, the unanchored end of'each fence section having an operating connection with- 'one of the circuit controllers.

5. An emergency obstruction indicator for railway tracks comprising in combination with an automatic signal circuit, of a plurality of circuit controllers each included in. series with an automatic signal, a stationary post for supporting the circuit controllers, and yieldable fence sections mounted at opposite sides of the stationary posts, said fence sections each including a plurality of wires anchored at one end and held normally taut by spring means at the opposite unanchored end, and an operative connection between the circuit controllers and the lat.- ter ends of the fence sections whereby. deflection of the fence at either side of the postv will operate one of said circuit controllers.

6. 'An emergency obstruction indicator for railway tracks comprising in combination with the automatic electric block signal system, an electrical circuit controller connected in series with the circuit of the signal system, means for supporting and means for operating the circuit controller comprising a pair of fixed posts one of which supports the circuit controller, actuating means. for the circuit controller connected to one of said posts, means for normally inaintaining'the circuit controller in a position to keep the circuits in the block sytem closed,

said means comprising spring-tensioning means for the circuit controller actuator,

and a second spring for maintaining'the Ycircuit controller in its closed or open position until operated ,or manually reset. I

7. An emergency obstruction indicator for railway tracks, comprising in combination with the automatic electric block signaling system, a normally inoperative electric circuit controller arranged in a fixed position and included in circuitwith the signaling system, a fence having an anchored part and movable part,jthe movable fence part being held supported under spring tension and having an operating connection with the circuit' controller.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature. i 1

I j EDWARD J. GORMAN. 

